


One Fine Day

by Christina786



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Brooklyn, M/M, New York City, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-23 01:14:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7460859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Christina786/pseuds/Christina786
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Song fic inspired by Death Cab For Cutie's Coney Island. Steve revisits Coney Island and remembers one day a few decades ago that changed the game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Fine Day

**Author's Note:**

> _sitting on a carousel ride without any music or light_  
>  everything was closed at Coney Island, and I could not help from smiling  
> I can hear the Atlantic echo back roller coaster screams from summers back  
> and everything was closed in Coney Island, and I could not help from smiling  
> Brooklyn will fill the beach eventually, and everyone will go but me  
> (Death Cab For Cutie – Coney Island) 

Night was slowly crawling in on this sinister day in late fall. The days were still warm enough, but nightfall brought a cutting taste of winter to the deserted streets. He hadn’t been here since…since before the war. Hadn’t dared come here, because he had feared the onslaught of memories. Somehow he’d expected the place to have changed drastically, so he was shocked to find it looking eerily similar to the days from which he remembered this part of town. He had only just stepped off the subway train, dragged his unwilling feet down the stairs and passed through the metal turnstile out into the wide, but low entry hall. It seemed even lower to him now, but that was probably because he was taller than his own self from back then. It even smelled the same. Through the same old corridor ahead he had made his way to Surf Avenue past a couple of tourist stores selling Brooklyn hoodies and Coney Island t-shirts. He had taken a deep breath before he had opened the door. Even now he didn’t know if he was actually prepared for what lay ahead, but he stepped out of the electrically lit station into the twilight on Surf Avenue. And it hit him like a brickwall, as a sign told him he had reached his destination; that he was home, but he wasn’t. An integral part of his home was missing, as he crossed the street and swallowed hard before entering Stillwell. There was a big Nathan’s on the corner. It all looked the same, but it tasted bitter, in spite of a big sign telling him “It’s Sugar”. Here in this place, time seemed to have frozen, only a few things pointed to the fact that everywhere else it had been almost 75 years.

~

“Welcome to Coney Island, Stevie!” Bucky grinned at him and lazily threw his arm around his friend’s shoulders. “Thought you could do with some fun after being cooped up in your apartment all week.” Just like the sun, Bucky was beaming brightly and Steve could not refrain from smiling back at his friend. He blinked a little in the unexpected sunlight outside the station. The air tasted tingly and salty and he could almost smell the sea already. A hint of excitement made itself known in his stomach. He loved this place, especially on a fine day like this after a week of heavy downpour.  
“Thanks, Buck. It’s a nice surprise, even though I kind of gathered that we were headed here with the subway line and all.” He still couldn’t resist smart mouthing.  
Bucky sighed dramatically and let his hand slide down Steve’s arm, imitating an exasperated dame from the movies. “Just act like you’re surprised, Rogers! We got a date!”  
Steve’s heart sank, as did the corners of his mouth, but only momentarily. Then he smiled again. He tried to control his voice as to not give anything away: “Oh, so, who are we meeting?”  
Bucky’s laugh was such a happy sound as it wove in and out of the tapestry of sounds all around them. Children laughing, music playing, girls giggling, elderly women cackling, boys’ excited screams from further away. The sounds almost swallowed Bucky’s laugh, but Steve would have heard it out of a million in spite of his weak ears.  
“No, dummie, we, the two of us, we got a date.” Bucky pointed from himself to Steve and back. “It’s been weeks since we’ve had some time for ourselves, just us boys. Just…the two of us. There’s always been my mom or Becca or…you know?” Bucky’s voice went soft. “Besides, I know how much you hate beach dates. Or dance dates. Or basically any kind of date that involves you having to be half-naked, dancing, talking or doing just about anything in front of a dame, or watching me talk to a girl.”  
Steve gave an uncomfortable little chuckle. His voice was small, when he said: “You make it sound like I’m no fun. I want you to enjoy yourself, Buck. You shouldn’t hold back because of me.”  
Buck leaned in and smiled a dopey grin. Steve’s heart took a leap and stumbled over a couple of beats. Bucky was so close, he could see his left incisor that was adoringly crooked and smell the coffee on his breath.  
“You know what, Stevie? I’m going to tell you a little secret”, he looked around conspiratorially and leaned in even further and whispered close to Steve’s ear: “The most fun I got when it’s just you and me. And I do enjoy myself, even when I only watch you draw or listen to you explain something to me.” His breath stroke Steve’s ear and Steve’s every hair stood on edge, goosebumps rising faster than he could swallow. Bucky leaned back, stood up straight, shot Steve another smile and then looked down Stillwell as if nothing had happened. Steve was still trying to catch his breath, as Bucky steered him across Surf Avenue and along the road and toward the beach. If Steve hadn’t known any better, he would have thought that Bucky’s hands were shaking slightly.

~

Steve had reached the empty boardwalk and looked down at the new boards. He didn’t know them, they were not the same as the ones he and Bucky had tread all those decades ago. But it was still the same boardwalk. The boards and the shops had changed, but the walk and the buildings were mostly the same. The Parachute Tower was standing proud in the distance to his right, only it wasn’t in use as a ride anymore. Only a reminder of the golden days of Coney Island, back when all of Brooklyn had spent their summers here, riding roller coasters and playing arcade games. Back when he had been certain that he and Bucky would grow old in the same neighbourhood, how their children would be friends. He gave a slightly bitter laugh and shook his head. Then he looked down toward the Atlantic. How many times had he been here with Bucky? It had been too often to count and he was regretting that he hadn’t committed each and every moment and Bucky’s reaction to it to memory. All those happy smiles and promises to always stay friends. And now Bucky was somewhere in a country far away while he was back in Brooklyn. He could almost see the old Bucky coming toward him from the Aquarium. See a ghost of the sixteen year-old gangly boy running off toward Luna Park. A slightly older version of the same spectre trying to do a handstand in the sand. A younger Bucky chasing seagulls. Steve took a deep breath that almost became a sob. It had been what, a couple of years since he had come out of the ice? Several months since he had found Bucky, his Bucky, and had to leave him again. And he had never stopped to actually think about what he’d lost. What he had regained. Or could regain. He took off his shoes and stepped into the almost icy waves of the ocean. He hated the cold, but it reminded him that he was alive. His lonesome footprints joined those of the seagulls and he watched the moon come out over the waves.

~

As soon as they had reached the boardwalk, Bucky had kicked his shoes off, pulled his shirt over his head, and looked at Steve expectantly. “Come on, Stevie, we might have all day, but I don’t want to wait for you to get your shoes off all day.” His voice sounded slightly whiny. Bucky had always been impatient.  
Steve got to his left knee and started untying his right shoe tidily and slowly. He looked up to Bucky with a mischievious grin, but then he saw a glint of something in Bucky’s eyes, and before he could figure out what was going through Bucky’s mind, he had hauled Steve over his shoulder and carried him the few steps down to the soft beach where he carefully let Steve plop into the sand with just a playful edge of roughness. Steve knew that Bucky would never hurt him, even when impulsively roughhousing. And through their laughter, as Bucky tried to catch Steve’s flailing feet, Steve couldn’t help but think about how safe he’d always felt with Bucky. Safe and at home, but never overprotected. He looked up into Bucky’s face, still laughing, and his breath caught in his throat when he felt his heart go out to the boy looming over him, threatening to take off his shoes for him. Society said it was wrong to love another boy like that, but Steve had always felt that you did not get to decide whom you fall in love with and when. Also, a little more love in the world could not possibly do any harm. But he sure as hell kept his mouth shut about these thoughts, because though a free spirit at heart, he very much enjoyed his physical freedom.  
Bucky caught his gaze and stopped laughing, his features becoming soft again. For a couple of seconds they just looked at each other, before Bucky held out his hand to Steve in an offer to help him to his feet. When Steve had grabbed his hand, he tugged a little bit too hard, sending Steve flying into his bare chest after he had gotten to his feet. He could feel Bucky’s accelerated heartbeat from the shoe struggle and wiggled free, when he thought his own pulse might just explode in his ears.  
“James Buchanan Barnes, I am a grown man, how dare you manhandle me like that? I have you know, I can untie my shoe laces since I was four years old.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest in mock consternation. Bucky tried to keep a straight face for a moment, but then a smile started tugging at the left corner of his mouth and transformed into an infuriatingly handsome smirk.  
“Well, sir, you still have a lot of growing to do, before I will stop manhandling you, as you put it. As long as I can throw you over my shoulder, I will do exactly that.”  
Steve pouted playfully, but eventually picked up his shoes and made his way to the water. Bucky stayed a few steps behind him, looking at his back as he went.  
“Hey, Stevie, haven’t you forgotten something?” he half-shouted.  
Steve turned around, a slight frown on his face, as he checked the beach for anything he might have forgotten. He looked at Bucky quizzically. “No, I don’t think so, why?”  
“You’re at the beach. How about taking off your shirt?” Bucky had caught up with him and spoke in a much lower voice. Steve turned red. Shook his head. Turned even redder. His hands got clammy. Bucky put a hand on his right shoulder and turned him around to face him. Bucky stood there, his already tan upper body glistening with a light sheen of sweat and a sprinkling of chest hair. Steve tried his best not to stare, but his head was at exactly that height and he did not want to look up to Bucky, into Bucky’s eyes.  
“I might get a sun burn. Apparently, it’s not healthy.” He mumbled.  
Bucky chuckled, but then he smiled at Steve. “You got no reason to be ashamed, you look fine without a shirt on. You’re tiny, but you look good shirtless. Don’t let anybody tell you any differently, all you need is a little more self esteem.”  
Steve looked at Bucky’s wiry and lean body and felt that he could never compare to that, but Bucky shook his head at him. “Don’t compare yourself to other people. You’re you, and you’re just right the way you are. So, do me a favour and get that shirt off, so we can get into the water.”  
Steve hesitated, but only a moment. He could feel Bucky’s gaze on him, as he took off his shirt and felt his cheeks and chest turn bright red. Bucky smiled at him. “Much better.” He said and let his arm rest on Steve’s small shoulders as they strolled toward the water.

~

After a while wading through the water, Steve had made his way back to the boardwalk and over to the closed Luna Park. Technically he was probably guilty of trespassing, but he was a sappy senile 90 year-old if anyone asked and Stark would probably attest to that. He had settled down on a deserted carousel and smiled to himself. Bucky had actually tried to hoist Steve’s new and improved body – which Bucky didn’t approve of right away – onto his shoulders under the howling laughter and wild cheers of the commandos. Steve was pretty sure that they had been named the Howling Commandos because of their howling laughter. And of course, Bucky had, because he had still been his playful Bucky at times, even though a little rougher around the edges and with a few more worried lines etched into his forehead. Steve sighed deeply. Bucky had never really gotten used to Steve being this big. In tired moments, caught off guard, Steve would notice Bucky’s eyes searching for Steve’s at his new chest height, where his eyes would have been mere months ago. At first Bucky had been careful to touch Steve, but over time he had gotten used to Steve’s new body, had started to accept it when he noticed that the Steve inside was still the same. Because Steve, too, sometimes forgot that he was a lot taller than before, banging his head on doorframes, cupboards, lamps, accidentally yanking doors off their hinges, making Bucky laugh. He also remembered Bucky appreciating his size, when Steve could protectively wrap Bucky in his arms during the times Bucky felt violently homesick, ill, or tired of fighting.  
He looked around, but there were no lights except the streetlamps and the moon. No music. No people. The silence felt good, he rarely got any time to be alone with his own thoughts. First there was a layer of thoughts about missions, tactics, work. Then there was to-do lists like doing the laundry, the dishes, buying groceries, etc. Then there was the arbitrary day-to-day things, did his neighbour hate him, had he turned off the coffee machine. But all those did not explain the slight edge of anxiety that had slowly driven itself like a wedge between him and the world. There was emptiness, when he tried to grasp it, the kind of emptiness you feel when you are looking for a word, but can’t remember or feel like you forgot something, but don’t know what. It was like white noise, constantly there and making him feel anxious and on edge. There was some undercurrent in his mind, like a rip tide. Dangerous, but imperceptible. And then the word he had forgotten had come to mind, once he’d arrived here: Bucky. The peaceful look on Bucky’s face when he had been in cryostasis. The willingness to enter a state as passive as this. How acceptingly and almost relieved he had let the cold wash over him and fill his lungs. Steve felt a small sting of rejection, because Bucky had prefered cryo to spending time with him and he feared that Bucky might not want to see him anymore. He knew how selfish and before all ridiculous this sounded, but deep inside he feared that he might never see Bucky again. That he was out here, ageing, while Bucky would be in a state of eternal youth somewhere in Wakanda. Some nights he wondered if he could do the same. Just go into cryo for the time being, wake up when Bucky woke up. But then at some point, he remembered that he had other friends, who needed him as well. Other friends, who appreciated him. It was not the same close relationship he’d had with Bucky, but then again, nothing could ever be the same. In those nights, he chose to trust Bucky and be there for his friends now. And besides, Bucky had explicitly said that he only intended to be in cryo for as long as it took the Wakandan scientists to come up with a way of getting rid off all the Hydra-tech and traps in his mind and body. Steve also trusted in the Wakandan scientists, who – according to T’Challa – had been coming ever closer to a way to de-infiltrate Bucky.  
He looked around again, he could take Bucky to Coney Island once he was completely free and they had some spare time. Granted, the spare time would probably the more problematic part about that, but on the other hand… even super-heroes had to have vacation days, didn’t they?

~

After a few lazy hours of lounging in the sun, playful water fights, and dozing, Bucky grinned at Steve. “Hey.” He said, voice a little raspy.  
“Hey.” Steve had smiled back. Spending time with Bucky alone was one of his favourite past times. Whatever they did, he always enjoyed it.  
“How about we go and try out the amusement park side of things.” His friend suggested.  
“Fine with me, I’m hungry.” Steve replied, getting to his feet.  
Bucky looked up at him, squinting against the sunlight, taking in his scrawny figure from head to toe, making Steve blush. He licked his lips before saying: “Where do you put all that food? Nobody who ever saw you would believe the sheer amount of food you consume.”  
Steve smiled sadly and wrapped his arms around his tiny body. “Well, at least I’m not overweight on top of everything else my health has got going on.”  
Bucky scrambled to his feet, sighing. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t mean to hurt you. To me you are beautiful, no matter how skinny or fat you are, Stevie. And you know why? Because you’re my Stevie.” He wrapped his arms around Steve’s waist from behind and rested his head on his shoulder, then he took his wrists carefully and loosened Steve’s arms from his chest. “Steve, you are beautiful. “ he whispered with conviction into Steve’s good ear, before he pulled him even closer. Again, Bucky’s heart was racing Steve’s but there was no finish line, their hearts just kept on racing.  
Steve’s head tipped forward. “I know you said not to compare myself to anyone, but I will never have a body like yours, Bucky. You’re strong and got muscles in places I’m only skin and bone. And you know, sometimes, I wish I looked a little more like you.”  
Bucky pulled away, turned him around, then grabbed Steve’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. “Steve Rogers, you stubborn mule, I…I like the way you look. But more importantly, you are one of the most important people in my life and one of the few people I happen to look up to. You’re my best friend.”  
“So, you’re saying you have to say that.” Steve was looking down at the sand, but when he looked up, he had a crooked grin on his face.  
Bucky gave him a nudge on the shoulder. “Punk!”  
“Jerk!”  
“Come on, let’s get over there, and you can show me how masculine and fearless you are!” Bucky said and pointed at the roller coaster, grinning from ear to ear.  
“Not the Cyclone…” Steve whined, but it was too late.  
“Oh yes, the Cyclone.” And with these words, Bucky put on his clothes again and half helped, half forced Steve into his, before he dragged him to the wooden roller coaster. Steve threw it some dreadful looks while they were waiting in line and he unsuccessfully tried to tune out the screams of the people on it. He would do almost anything for Bucky, but this was pretty damn scary.  
“Come on, Steve, it will be great. It’s fun. Can’t you hear them having fun?”  
“To me it sounds more like they are awfully scared. And boy, it’s not enough that I have to ride that thing, I have to watch it go before, over and over again?”  
Bucky’s hand found his shoulder, Bucky’s eyes found his eyes. “Hey, I’m right here with you. Nothing will happen to you.”  
Steve looked to the ground and then back up at Bucky. “You’re here alright, otherwise I would not be standing here.” Steve gave a short laugh and it sounded lighter than it felt. Bucky’s hand squeezed his shoulder twice before he let it go.

~

Steve found himself next to the Cyclone again and looked up at the wooden beast. It didn’t seem that intimidating now, in the dark and with no one on it. That was when he realised that nothing really felt the same here anymore. Without lights, without music, without Bucky. What was he even doing here, when he had no one to share it with? What was he looking for?The thought filled him with emptiness and despair and made it hard to breathe. It felt like an asthma attack, except he knew, he wasn’t even able to have an asthma attack anymore. At least not physically, mentally was another story all together. He knew what he had been looking for: comfort. His and Bucky’s former selves. And while he had found the latter, it had made the former drift even further apart. They would never be those carefree boys again. They had changed, the world around them had changed. Coney Island wasn’t the same anymore. But tomorrow morning, Brooklyn would flood the beach and boardwalk like it had 70 years ago. Only he wouldn’t go. He would not walk these streets again until Bucky was back.

~

“This was a great ride, but a terrible idea”, Steve choked out between heaves of his stomach, “I really didn’t like it, but I had fun not liking it.”  
He heard Bucky chuckle from the other side of the toilet door. Steve flushed, opened the door and stepped out, beelining for the sinks, where he rinsed out his mouth and washed his face. Bucky held out a towelette for him and he dried his face.  
“I really wasn’t sure if you’d do this, Rogers, I really wasn’t, but color me impressed.”  
Steve chuckled. “I’m impressed I made it to the restrooms. And at the sheer volume of my stomach.”  
“No graphic descriptions, please”, Bucky whinced and went through the door back onto the beach. Steve looked for a trash can, threw away the paper towel and followed him. He was blinded by the light of the sunny afternoon, blinked for a few heartbeats, and that had been enough for Bucky to vanish from view.  
He looked around frantically, when his eyes landed on a huge figure looming over a girl of about his age, maybe a little younger. From her body language, he could immediately see that she wasn’t comfortable.  
“Everything okay over there?” he half asked, half shouted. The guy turned his head around and grunted a curt ‘yes’.  
“I asked the girl. Everything okay with you, miss?”  
The girl looked fearfully up into the face of the guy in front of her. Almost imperceptibly she shook her head.  
“Would you mind stepping a few inches back, sir?” Steve said while he made his way over in a few hurried steps. “The lady is not comfortable.”  
The guy wheeled around and was in Steve’s face faster than Steve had anticipated. “Oh, and who are you to tell me what’s okay?” He shoved Steve hard in the chest and Steve almost fell, but he didn’t. And wasn’t that a victory in itself? He smiled to himself, when the guy was about to turn back to the girl, but Steve wouldn’t have it.  
“You should really learn to read the subtle or less subtle signs to tell when a lady wants to be left alone, sir!” Steve said firmly and grabbed at the guy’s arm. The man turned around and Steve saw stars. Apparently, he had been punched in the head. He teetered a bit, but threw his comparatively tiny fist in the other man’s direction and felt his knuckles connect painfully with something hard. His chin? He looked up and realised he had hit the man’s collarbone. Boy, was he useless in a fist fight. But there was something at stake here and he tried punching the big guy in the stomach and yelled at the girl to get away. For a moment she looked at him in astonishment, then she did as he had said, but the slight distraction as Steve watched her leave had meant another fist to his face. He groaned. Heard footsteps fast approaching from the direction into which the girl had disappeared. For a moment he feared she had come back, but then he saw Bucky.  
“Steve!” Bucky stood between the guy and Steve. He had stuck out his chest and tried to appear as big as possible. When the guy turned around, after having sized him up, he shook his head and went away cursing, and Bucky sighed a breath of relief.  
He held his hand out to help Steve back up, shaking his head. “Can’t leave you out of my sight for one minute, can I?” Bucky asked and gave a hollow laugh. “You okay, Steve?”  
“Who’s Steve? Who are you?” Steve asked in an innocent tone of voice that made Bucky punch his shoulder.  
“Stop with this already, it’s bad enough you had to go off be the hero again. Are you alright, Stevie?”  
“Yeah…” he tried feeling his left eye and noticed it hurt. Big time. He whined. “At least the girl got away.”  
Bucky couldn’t help but laugh. “Always helping out a damsel in distress, even when it’s too much for you. The poor girl actually pointed me in your direction, because she was afraid you might get yourself killed. Said a small guy started to beat up someone who had threatened her. I knew immediately she was talking about you. Of course I did.”  
Steve stared at his knuckles which were split open where he had hit that guy’s collarbone. “I’m sorry, Buck. But I couldn’t just leave her, could I?”  
“No, Stevie, of course you couldn’t. Let’s get you home and get you something for your hand and eye.” He collected their things and steered Steve to the subway, then home. They were quiet for most of the trip, Steve having a bad headache. They arrived at the small appartment Steve lived in and Bucky opened the door, sitting Steve down on the couch and walking into the small kitchenette to get some ice, a towel, bandages and iodine. Then he dragged a small chair over to the sofa and sat down across from Steve, taking his small hand into his rough ones, examining it.  
“Nothing seems to be broken, which is good.”  
“Obviously.”  
Bucky snorted, then put the ice into the towel and gave it to Steve. “Put that on your eye with your left hand, while I take care of your right one.”  
With practiced fingers he disinfected and wrapped up Steve’s knuckles within a moment and then took the ice pack from Steve’s left, rearranging it as he did and pressed it softly back onto the bruise.  
Steve observed him through his good eye. “Buck, Bucky, I’m, I’m sorry. You wanted to have the perfect beach day and I had to go and ruin it. I…” Steve stopped when he saw the smile on Bucky’s face.  
“Nah, you didn’t. It would not have been a perfect day without my perfectly heroic and stupid little Stevie getting beaten up for helping someone.” He stroked Steve’s cheek with his free hand. “It’s why I love you, Stevie, because you don’t step down in the face of injustice. But you should really learn how to ask for backup! But yeah, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Steve looked up into Bucky’s eyes, but he could find nothing but honesty in them.  
“You love me?” he asked, his stomach tight with worry and excitement and something else.  
Bucky gave a nod and looked down. “And I’m very sorry for it, because I know this is not how the world works, but I do. And I am not willing to let you believe that nobody loves you, because someone says it’s not right.”  
Steve frowned. It all made sense suddenly. “So, this whole day…”  
“Was about me telling you. When all it needed was a damsel in distress and a black eye.”  
“You forgot the split knuckles and the pain I’m in right now.”  
“Well, that’s entirely your fault!”  
“You can be an ass, Barnes.”  
“Speak for yourself, Rogers.”  
“But I love you, too. Always have, always will.”  
“Man, that sounds corny.” Bucky laughed.  
“Well, then you phrase it right!”  
“Till the end of the line, pal, I’m with you till the end of the line.”  
Steve huffed: “And that’s supposed to be less corny?” he asked incredulously.  
“Well, more manly, like ‘I have your back’, I’ll go where ever you go.”  
“Not to burst your bubble, Buck, but to my ears, it sounds like a wedding vow.”  
“Good, because then it sounds just about right.” Bucky said, face completely earnest.  
Steve’s lips formed a little ‘oh’ as he caught Bucky’s meaning.  
“We might never be able to tell anybody else, but we can have this. Society might not think it’s right, but it is one of the few things in my life, I feel absolutely right about.”  
Steve looked at him through his one good eye. He blinked away a tear or two, leaned over toward Bucky to give him an innocent peck on his lips, and smiled as he whispered: “Till the end of the line. You may now kiss the bride.”  
Bucky’s mouth fell open with amused shock, before he grabbed Steve and did just what Steve had said.

~

And it hadn’t always been smooth sailing; they had to learn a lot, had to keep up appearances for the most part, they had to learn how to let the other help them, how to overcome their pride in Bucky’s case or their stubborness in Steve’s. But whenever either one needed reassurance, the other had been there for him. Till the end of the line, quite literally. And it turned out, even after that.  
Steve sighed deeply as he looked out of the subway cart to see nothing but his reflection and darkness. He knew exactly what the landscapes looked like, even if there had been some skyscrapers and buildings added, others fallen apart. He knew what his Brooklyn looked like and that it had one James Buchanan Barnes in it. This wasn’t his Brooklyn, this Brooklyn would never feel like home.  
His phone rang. For a moment, he was hesitant to pick up, but then he saw the number and hit the green button as fast as possible without breaking his phone. Someone in a low voice explained something to him, his mother tongue wasn’t American English, but he used complicated words. Scientific words. He caught a glimpse of a familiar building. Still, this Brooklyn might never feel like home again.  
Then there was a voice as familiar as his own on the other end of the line. He involuntarily smiled.  
“Buck, can you imagine, I’m in Brooklyn right now. You wouldn’t believe how much has changed. And how much is just the same.”  
A low chuckle answered his enthusiasm. “You gotta show me then, Stevie. I could probably be there by next week. I really wanna see you.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Always have been, always will be, pal.”  
“It’s ‘till the end of the line’, you know that, Buck. You were the one who thought ‘always’ too corny.”  
“I do. But today corny is what I was going for.” Steve could hear the self-satisfied broad smile even through the phone and across hundreds of miles. But soon Bucky would be here.  
“You know what we gotta do, Buck?”  
“Have sex. And lots of it? Make up for the past decades?”  
“No. Yes, but not what I was referring to.”  
“Well, seeing how you’re in Brooklyn, Coney Island. You owe me another ride on the Cyclone!”  
Steve gave a laugh. “Just get your ass over here, before I do something stupid.”  
“I will, Stevie, and I’ll bring all the stupid back with me.”  
And maybe this Brooklyn could be home after all. 


End file.
